Things to see and do Dila

Discovered in 1935 by archaeologist Johnsen, the Tututi site lies to the south of Dila. After 22 km, a track climbs to the right and leads to the site after 4 km. Currently considered to be the megalithic site with the largest number of stelae in Ethiopia, Tututi could be, according to studies by French professor Anfray, the most important site of its kind in the world. The Tuto Fela site can be reached via a 3 km track starting to the left of the road, 15 km south of Dila.
Several other sites, of which Gollecha 55 km south of Dila is the most important, feature similar steles.

History. Numerous stelae have been erected in the Rift Valley region of southern Ethiopia, the anthropomorphic stelae of Gedeo country in particular, as well as thousands of phallic stelae in Sidamo. It's understood that these monuments date back to historical times, but their origins remain a mystery. As the populations settled in these territories have no oral tradition of such funerary steles, it would appear that they were erected by two distinct civilizations, between the ^8th and ^11th centuries, with no connection to the current occupants. The Gedeo, who share similarities with their Sidama neighbors who also erected phallic stelae, have preserved ancestral beliefs linked to a sky god, Mageno. It is known that some Oromo tribes continue to erect funerary monoliths around tombs or at some distance from them, but it seems that, as with the waga of the Konso, these monuments are reserved for certain people, heroes or reckless hunters, rather than for a god.

The Tututi site is home to more than 2,100 stelae spread over 3 hectares, the most imposing of which reach 8 m in height. Amidst those still standing, a multitude of others are lying, broken or buried, scattered among the crops and even in the enclosures of the dwellings. Here, all the steles are identical in their phallic shape, highlighted by a horizontal groove at the upright end of the shaft.

Tuto Fela site. This megalithic site comprises 217 stelae erected on a large stone tumulus, 200 of which are anthropomorphic and the others phallic. Following the discovery of the site in 1931, studies and excavations carried out by the team of French professor Roger Joussaume unearthed human bones that seemed to confirm the funerary symbolism of the monuments. Most of the cylindrical stone shafts bear the representation of a schematic face at their end, while others are engraved with geometric motifs that may have a feminine symbolism.

Odola Galma, Soka Dibicha and Godana Kinjo sites. The other archaeological wealth of the Gédéo region lies in the rocks engraved with animal motifs. These sites, located a few kilometers apart on the banks of the Anshi Macho river, group together some fifteen engraved blocks. Access is via a 25 km track, which begins 3 km to the left south of Dila and can be difficult to negotiate. According to Professors Anfray and Joussaume, specialists in these sites, these representations of cattle, clearly identifiable by their horns, could date back four thousand years and give an indication of societies that undertook the domestication of cattle.

Shappe is the most impressive of the prehistoric rock carving sites in Dila, but nearby Laga Harro is also worth a combined visit. Located in an unmarked wilderness area, a guide is essential to get there. You'll find one at the Oromia District Office, 7 km from Dilla near the village of Guangua on the Shappe road. It's also here that you must pay an entrance fee per car. Negotiate a guide for two or three sites while you're at it, as the stones don't speak for themselves and the road to Shappe is complicated. The centerpiece of this site of prehistoric engravings is a fresco depicting seventy cows in motion at the edge of a cliff and a river. Partially destroyed, it is thought to be between three and five thousand years old; it's hard to say, as it hasn't revealed all its mysteries and, to tell the truth, no one has looked into it until now. It is, however, unique in that the drawings have a singular style, with small heads, large horns and large udders full of milk. In 2000, local archaeologist Gizachew Abegaz discovered two new, equally mysterious engraving sites nearby. These include Laga Harro, which features six engraved cows and two human figures, one with a penis cover and the other jumping above the cows as during the Oukouli ceremony among the Hamer in the Omo Valley.